It was girls semifinals on Friday in the 3A Sub State at Silver Lake.

Nemaha Central 45, Hiawatha 33

In the rubber match and third meeting between Big 7 foes, it was all Nemaha Central as the Lady Thunder jumped to a 10-2 lead and never looked back.  Hiawatha called their first timeout down 16-6, but following a 11-0 second quarter by Nemaha, the Thunder had the game locked up ahead 28-8 and coasted to the win.  

Nemaha Central made all but three of their baskets in the paint including several transition layups after breaking the Hiawatha press and getting easy looks and put backs inside throughout the night. Addy Holthaus had 21 points and fellow junior forward Ella Larkin added 13 to help overcome a combined team free throw shooting performance of 11-21.  The Thunder have now won 9 of their last 10 games and stand at 17-5 on the season and they look to return to state for the fifth time in the last six years on Saturday night. 

Hiawatha was only 3 of 10 at the charity stripe and couldn't not get going offensively, missing several easy shots and struggling against the Nemaha defensive half-court pressure. Despite outscoring the Thunder 25-17 in the second half and forcing five turnovers in the fourth quarter, the Redhawks never got closer than 11 points at 44-33 in the closing minute. 

Senior stars Clara Lindstrom and Sarah Madsen combined for 11 points in the fourth frame and finished with 12 and 10 total points respectively. After winning their mid-season tournament and share of the Big 7 League title for the first time in 40 years, Hiawatha ended their best season in a long time with an 18-4 record. 

Silver Lake 55, Jeff West 53

This was an outstanding game from start to finish and despite Jeff West getting off to a slow start and trailing 17-12 at the end of one quarter, it was super tight the rest of the night. Ultimately, the Tigers missed a potential game-winning three in the final seconds to fall just short of knocking off the top seed Eagles. 

The game was tied at 28 at halftime and at 40 entering the fourth period. The Eagles got up 51-44 with 3:57 remaining before the Tigers came roaring back and pulled within 54-53 when Kristin Biltoff hit a trey with 31 seconds left. Silver Lake then missed their final one-and-one but after a missed Jeff West shot to take the lead, Mariah Farmer made one free throw with 10 second left for the final 55-53 tally. 

Both teams had a standout performance at Makenzie McDaniel posted 24 points and more than 10 rebounds as well as a handful of blocks for Silver Lake. Mellany Roenne was terrific for Jeff West with 26 points including a 6-7 performance at the foul line and had nearly 10 rebounds and 10 steals as well. Biltoff, who missed a decent look at a long trey to end the game had 9 points and Kinley Stones added 10 as Jeff West played about as good as they could have and end the season with a 15-7 record. 

Silver Lake turned it over six times in the fourth quarter but made 7 of 12 free throws in the final eight minutes which proved to be just enough. They also got big treys from Kaibryn and McKinley Kruger in the final stretch as those girls combined for 18 points and Taylor Ross scored 9.  The Eagles are 11-1 with a lone loss in January to Rock Creek and look to make their second straight trip to the state tournament under Coach Kyle Porter on Saturday night. 

Citizens State Bank and Trust Company of Hiawatha  Players to Bank On: 

Addy Holthaus of Nemaha Central, Makenzie McDaniel of Silver Lake and Mellany Roenne from Jef West. 

The 3A Sub State Championship games Saturday night can be heard live on KNZA 103.9 FM with Royal Valley vs. Sabetha boys at 5:30 then the Nemaha Central and Silver Lake girls.